Hub 3: Orchard of Lamentations

In this grove of sorrow, two planets, one green one blue, cleverly concealed from the likes of you...

Essentials
You are in a small grotto, just in front of the exit portal. Ahead of you is a combined mana container and a twisting passage which is the only way forward. There are ettins along the way, and you will pass a slimy waterfall and river — beware of the stalker lurking within. Further on, the passage snakes its way to a roughly triangular area surrounded by walls and high ledges. You will face ettins and centaurs, as well as slaughtaurs firing from the western ledges to your right. If you are the cleric or mage, there will also be afrits perched on the ledges, ready to swoop down on you. There are many monsters on the eastern escarpment — you can dispatch them, but they are not an immediate concern. Across the ‘triangle’ to the south are twin corridors, with ettins on the steps and mana on the ledges (green to the east, blue to the west). Both of these passages lead to the same general area: a large clearing crisscrossed by alleys sunken into the ground. There are a number of centaurs and slaughtaurs to fight here (the poisonous mushrooms by the eastern stairs are useful, see: Tricks). The ledges you saw by the stairs wrap around the area, and offer not only mana, but also crystal vials and quartz flasks (remember to run/jump over the gaps). To proceed, head down to the southern point of the crossroads, opposite the entrances. The sunken path leads to a vestibule with discs of repulsion and a switch to your left.

Pulling the switch activates the floor in front of you — it lowers, then rises shortly after. This is the entrance of a large, square chamber with a moving floor which can crush you against the ceiling. To survive, you must run between ‘safe zone’ platforms spaced around the square, located at the corners and midpoints (the center is closed for now). The object is to work your way around to the platform opposite the entrance, where you can open the central platform. Boots of Speed are not necessary here, as long as you make haste to the nearest platform (it is possible to skip past one platform, even as the mage, but this is an unnecessary risk). Icon of the Defender will not help, because the platforms will rise up and leave you trapped until it wears off (or you teleport out). As long as you end up on a lift, you will survive. Ettins guard the platforms, but these can be dealt with. A useful strategy is to ride the platform down without crossing to another — this will lure some ettins out onto the floor, which will then crush them. There will still be ettins to fight in the chambers, but their numbers will be thinned out using this method. The ‘safety’ chambers contain pickups such as fléchettes and discs of repulsion, and each has a switch to activate the floor. The second weapon for your class can be found in the square — Timon's Axe to the south, Serpent Staff to the west, and Frost Shards to the east. More importantly, the southern chamber has two switches — the lefthand/eastern switch opens the central chamber, unleashing dark bishops (the righthand switch activates the floor). The dark bishops can be baited and crushed just like the ettins, so they should not pose a threat. Once they are dealt with, you can safely enter the central chamber. Again, there are two switches; the northern switch opens the way forward (the switch to the southeast activates the floor). Having pulled the northern switch, simply run north to the entry-point, and head back through the crossroads.

Once back in the triangular area, you will find that the eastern escarpment has lowered to form a massive stairway leading upward (the first step is visible from the western stairway entrance). If you did not fight the monsters earlier, you will be confronted by a crowd of ettins, along with green chaos serpents for the fighter. Along the way are green mana, discs of repulsion, and a pair of quartz flasks at the top. Ascending the broad steps brings you to the source of the slime waterfall, and it is full of stalker bosses, so be wary. At the crest of the waterfall, the emerald planet awaits.

With the first planet in hand, it is time to head back to the crossroads. The northern wall has opened, releasing the first wave of monsters — a swarm of ettins. Inside the room is blue mana and a porkalator artifact, but beware: the side-walls open as you step forward, unleashing centaurs and slaughtaurs from hidden alcoves (which contain fléchettes). If you explore the sunken paths of the crossroads, you will now find that the east-west axis has opened up, with descending stairs and newly revealed tunnels on either side. Both tunnels lead to the western ledges of the triangular area (like on Heresiarch's Seminary, they loop around the map). They are guarded by dark bishops if you are the mage or cleric, or ettins if you are the fighter. The western tunnel is optional, as it leads to an Amulet of Warding. The eastern tunnel leads to the sapphire planet.

If you have obtained both planets, your work is done. If you are on the western ledge, simply hop down, turn left, and go through the passage to the grotto where you arrived. The portal returns you to Heresiarch's Seminary.

Tricks
Here, just as in any other level where they can be found, you can smash the poisonous mushrooms to produce a gas cloud similar to the Cleric's fléchette (quite useful for getting rid of Centaurs and Slaughtaurs, if you manage to get them to gather around a mushroom).

At the foot of the eastern stairs leading to the crossroads, there is a troop of poisonous mushrooms which can be used strategically against the crowd. By bursting them and standing behind the clouds, the approaching centaurs/slaughtaurs can be ensnared. This will dispatch the majority of the enemies in the clearing, making it easy to mop up the rest.

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:

Trivia

 * On the two highest difficulty levels (or if lured), monsters are near the silent teleport line used to connect the south area with the overlook area. Depending on how combat plays out, the player may have monsters visibly appear in front of him as he teleports, or have monsters walk behind the teleport line.
 * Medieval monasteries often included orchards or gardens for food, medicine, and other purposes.
 * Lamentations may be a reference to the book in the Old Testament, keeping with the religious theme.